Gun Violence: It’s Up To Us!

The inside of my brain is bursting. I want to scream, but I know this is childish and pointless. I’m over 50 years old- and I know better. But, I’m a mom and when I watch the aftermath of 20 children killed at Sandy Hook, the fibers on my neck burn and I feel the maternal desire to protect. I’m in good company. Moms are uniting around this issue and are ready to take action. It’s a primal Darwinian response and it means there’s power behind it. After all, don’t screw around with moms on a mission to protect their young.

Women are ready to push for change in our gun laws.

Americans are accused of having a short memory, of allowing the next crisis to trump the last. But this time – it will be different. I believe our voices will stay strong and we will pressure our government to change our gun laws – we can and will make a difference.

We can feel the viral wave of momentum building as we read this past week’s articles by our great thought leaders – Fareed Zakaria and Nicholas Kristof and Arianna Huffington. Voices of reason appear to be aligned across the media. The urgency that comes with change is here. Let’s put a collective bet that 2013 will be the year we change these gun laws.

It’s easy right now to stay charged. In our living rooms, on our computer screens, and at our holiday tables, we are experiencing the aftermath of this tragedy. In the midst of our collective mourning we still hear the screaming silence of defenseless children.

And it looks like we can count on the NRA to keep us enraged. Their solution is MORE GUNS at the doors of all schools. They’ve suggested schools hire guards to stand watch at every entrance. Really? Shoot the shooters? Gated schools, gated communities? Is a police state what our forefathers had in mind? Is this Venezuela under martial law? Not in my backyard.

I know that guns play a role in the lives of many Americans. I get that perfectly nice people own guns for self-defense, hunting, and even recreation. But for the life of me, I can’t come up with any reason why the average American should need a semi-automatic or automatic weapon.

It’s time for our citizens to disarm – drop our weapons, unload our ammo – surrender. Enough is enough. We need to put pressure on Washington. We are going to have to work hard on our House of Representatives – they need to soften on gun control and that’s going to take some doing.

Moms are a powerful force en masse. Is there a mother alive who could sit around a holiday table with their children and not shed a tear for the mothers of Newtown who have lost their kids? When we look at our children gathered together, must we worry about random shootings when they leave the house?

I plan on being part of the Million Mom March on Washington, and I hope you will join me at that time. We haven’t gotten to this 50-year threshold by just sitting back and watching. We know how to step up to protect our children – we’ve had plenty of practice. It’s our time to make our voices heard — it’s our job to protect our children and the generations to come.

Gun Violence: It’s Up To Us! was last modified: December 25th, 2012 by Felice Shapiro

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Felice Shapiro loves figuring out what's next. Felice writes with honesty and humor about real life events, romance, tragedy, reinvention and family not to mention — fashion, beauty & travel. As a serial entrepreneur in the publishing space, she launched Betterafter50.com to meet the needs of women entering their next phase at 50. Inspired and armed with her love of publishing, writing, start-ups and women’s issues, Shapiro launched an online magazine for 50-something women to share personal stories, successes and relevant issues. She is proud of BA50 which is in its 6th year and has over 7 million unique visitors.